


what's your superpower?

by madmadeleine



Series: adventures in domesticity [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Coping, Drabble, Fluff, Knitter Bucky Barnes, Knitting, M/M, this is total fluff I can't help it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-06 20:53:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1872084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madmadeleine/pseuds/madmadeleine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everybody needs a hobby, right? Bucky finds a new one to help him adjust and Steve only mocks him a little.</p>
            </blockquote>





	what's your superpower?

“Bucky?” Steve called as he stepped through the door of their apartment, carrying groceries. “I bought the good ice cream bars, like you wanted, and also some yogurt and granola because you eat too much goddamn ice cream. You hungry?”

No reply. Steve set the bags down slowly and went into the living room as quietly as he could. Last night hadn’t been bad at all (they’d watched a movie and eaten their weight in popcorn), but God only knew what could trigger an episode. Therapy couldn’t fix everything. Steve just hoped it wasn’t too bad today.

Steve entered the living room, muscles tense. It took a second for Steve to realize that a) Bucky was not, in fact, in need of immediate psychiatric intervention, b) there was something that looked like a lumpy red sack in his lap, and c) Bucky was knitting said lumpy red sack. Bucky was sitting on the worn blue couch, tongue poking out and lips pursed in utter concentration, eyes fixed determinedly on the two knitting needles with red wool wrapped around them in his lap.

“Oh my God,” Steve whispered. He immediately regretted saying it out loud. Bucky’s head whipped around and the knitting needles clattered to the floor.

“Dammit, Steve! You made me drop at least ten stitches.” Bucky rescued the red mass from the floor and began hooking stitches back on to the needles.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said Steve, choking back laughter as he sat down gingerly next to Bucky. “I didn’t know you were knitting socks for our boys at the front.”

“Shut up,” grumbled Bucky. “I was making you a hat and gloves, but screw you. I’ll just give them to Thor.”

“No, no!” Steve said hastily. “It’s fine. It’s cool. I’m not trying to impugn your manhood. But seriously, since when do you knit?”

“Natalia taught me,” said Bucky, staring intently at the hat in his lap. “She said it helps to have something to focus on when the memories come, something small and repetitive, and I was shit at needlepoint.”

Steve bravely attempted not to laugh, but the thought of Natasha teaching Bucky to do needlepoint proved too much. He started giggling, and Bucky’s scowl prompted even more laughter.

“Does Natasha do needlepoint frequently?” Steve choked.

“Nah,” Bucky said. “She said she’d make Thor teach me. Apparently he’s pretty good.”

The two dissolved into laughter that got even louder every time they looked at each other. “Seriously, though,” Bucky said when the two of them recovered. “Having something to do when I start thinking about shit I don’t want to really helps keep the episodes at bay. And if you think this is crazy, you should see Natalia’s knitting. It’s some next level shit. She makes gloves and socks and all this other stuff with skinny-ass yarn and five tiny needles. I think she made Clint that pair of purple fingerless gloves he’s always wearing. Compared to hers, this is like kiddy stuff. I’m nowhere near making socks for the war effort.”

“You know,” said Steve thoughtfully, “I’ve seen articles about organizations that ask for donations of knitted stuff for soldiers. Y’know, things like wool socks or gloves or helmet liners. I bet they’d love some of your stuff. You could do that once you get good at hats and fingerless gloves.”

“Yeah, maybe,” said Bucky. “I gotta get a whole lot better at those tiny-ass stitches, though. I’ll stick to hats for the team for now.”

“Hey, could you teach me how to knit? No joke, it sounds really cool and it’d be nice to have something to do during movie nights.”

“Sure.” Bucky smiled as he grabbed another pair of knitting needles and some soft grey wool from the bag at his feet. “You might not be able to handle it, though. I’m warning you, Rogers, this is some pretty technical stuff.”

“So show me how it’s done, Barnes,” grinned Steve. He sat patiently and watched Bucky’s hands carefully form one stitch after another after another. After a few minutes, he grabbed his sketchpad off the coffee table and started drawing, entranced by the interplay of flesh and metal and bright red wool.  An hour later, Steve hadn’t learned a damn thing about knitting, but he had three sketches of Bucky’s hands and a new hat. Bucky ceremoniously plunked the hat on Steve’s head and groaned comically when it went past Steve’s eyes.

“No, no, it’s one of those slouchy hats that all the college kids wear these days, see?” Steve said enthusiastically as he rearranged the red beanie. “It’s perfect and damn warm, too.”

Bucky laughed. “You look ridiculous, punk. I’ll make you another.”

“You better not, jerk,” Steve shot back. “Make me some of those fingerless gloves next time.”

Bucky’s smile grew even wider, and the knitting needles slid off the couch as he leaned forward to divest Steve of the hat and kiss him for all he was worth.

A few months later, Steve had a scarf and fingerless gloves, every Avenger had a hat, and Warmth for Warriors received a box of knitted donations. The note simply read, “From one cold soldier to another.  –James B.”

**Author's Note:**

> knitting is an awesome coping mechanism, but is not in any way a substitute for therapy or medication.  
> a couple things: [these](http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fightin-words) are the gloves Natasha knits Clint (in purple and grey, of course), and this is [the organization Bucky donates to](http://warmthforwarriors.com/). they do good things. the title is a reference to the knitting cliche 'I knit. What's your superpower?' (t-shirt [here](http://www.captainleisuretees.com/s/T-Shirts/For-Her/I-Knit-Whats-Your-Superpower/session_f456d46286d8/)).  
> you can find me on tumblr [here](http://www.mrymorstn.tumblr.com) (mrymorstn) to talk knitting headcanons, cry about stupid superhero boyfriends, or whatever you do.


End file.
